London airport suspends flights as protesters storm runway

London, Sep 6 (IANS) Flights at London City Airport were suspended Tuesday after protesters took the runway, according to airport officials.

Activists from the international group “Black Lives Matter UK” claimed responsibility for the disruption at the airport, Efe news reported.

The activists tweeted, “At London City Airport a small elite is able to fly, in 2016 alone 3,176 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean #Shutdown.”

According to the police, nine protesters managed to make their way onto the tarmac after sailing across the Royal Docks in a boat and locked themselves together on the runway, the daily Mirror reported.

The group formed about four years ago after the fatal shooting of African-American teenaged Trayvon Martin in the US has been staging anti-racism protests.